As Weiner himself said in his statement, "Like many young people, I have grown into a world where some of our most private moments have been documented online. While a few loud voices on Twitter might chastise me for the video, most people see the video for what it is: a distraction."We’re on the cusp of a major generational shift in politics: The people running for office in the coming years are the first generation to be extremely online for most of their lives. People who’ve never known a time before the internet—yes, Millennials—are now running for political office, and that means their online histories are on display and preserved in a way no previous generation of politicians ever had to contend with.
As long as these online histories don't reveal the kind of bad judgment and character that can harm others (for example, audio of the candidate openly talking about sexually assaulting women) none of that should matter. We all have mistakes filed away online, after all. It’s where we grew up, and part of growing up is making a bunch of mistakes.
"I encourage everyone to explore their sexuality safely but this is why it is very important for clients to research who they are interacting with," Harley said. "Personally I do not feel that Zack should suffer any negative repercussions out of his private life being released to the public, his right to privacy was violated and if anything he is the victim in this story."